New to me 1999 986 Base model 5 speed 34k miles :0)
 

I had a 1998 tiptronic fall into my lap, but I prefer the 5 speed, so I just found this beauty (5 speed) that was well cared for and only 34K miles.



Just bought my first DA polisher....I think it works :0) These pics are the first rough polish, it is not even waxed yet.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1657073736.jpg


I just bought my first http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1657073762.jpg

Great car, great plate!

Wow, 34k miles, looks brand new! Any info about learning how to do polishing like this?

It is actually surprisingly easy. I watched a bunch of youtube videos and what I found was:
1. Wash the car with an appropriate soap to strip all the wax. I used chemical guys product "clean slate"
2. Clay bar the paint to remove particles and impurities, this is also very easy, you just spray on a lubricant (like soapy water) and slide a bit of clay around all the paint, you will feel it go from gritty to smooth quickly. I used chemical guys "OG" clay, but any pro clay will do fine.
3. I washed again after this.
4. Buy a REAL dual action polisher. I bought this one $109: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07P2BWRXH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and buy separately the pads you will use (use good pads, the cheap ones end up costing more)
I used these two polishes which are both on the lighter cut side, deep scratches would benefit from more aggressive compounds:
first polish:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DKYBK0C?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_detail s

final polish:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FJG0LU4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then I used chemical guys butter wet wax.
https://www.chemicalguys.com/butter-wet-wax/butter-wet-wax.html?gtmListValue=Internal%20Search

Of course there are many many products that will give you the same result and 'experts' love to opine about why their product/method is superior, but the pictures show an 'acceptable' outcome :)

Here it after a 2nd finer finishing polish and wax:
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1657306515.jpg

Thank you! I'll give it a try and report back :-)